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Cool Your Cans For National Beer Can Appreciation Day

Thanks to the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company being the first brewery to distribute in cans on this date in 1935, we can celebrate National Beer Can Appreciation Day. Richmond, Virginia was the first to recieve the canned goods, being delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale. No word if Mr. Krueger sent koozies to accompany his shipment.

While cans fell out of favor over time, over the past few years they have made a strong comeback. We can see why: cans cool quicker, offer better protection of the beer from light and oxygen, and are lighter to transport. It also allows us to participate in another beer-related holiday: National Crush a Can Day

To get your fix of canned brew, we suggest this sixer sampler platter of a few of our favorites:

Many believe that Oskar Blues fueled the resurgence of canning when it opened its doors in 2002, hand-sealing their beers one at a time with a table top machine. Named for one of their founders, Dale’s is a go-to Pale for us with it’s grapefruit and hop nose and malty-caramel sweetness combining with just a bit of spice to form one very partakable beer. Fun side fact: Check the bottom of your can. Whomever is running the canning line that day can print the short message of their choosing, allowing for a more interesting form of Twitter.

A glowing copper in color, The Corruption is what IPA’s strive to grow up to be. Pine and citrus dance together to form a tantalizing nose. The beer delivers a bit of candied caramel upfront, which is quickly replaced by a hoppy earthy bitterness that balances perfectly. For a beer that “straddles the line between IPA and Imperial IPA,” it is both crushable and savorable.

A seasonal available April through August, Summer Solstice is cream soda in a can. Copper in color, the beer smells like carmel toffee with hints of vanilla and orange. Malt-forward in taste, with just a touch of hops allowing the bready vanilla cream to shine. Make sure to pack a bunch of these if you are spending your summer night around a campfire.

For a beer that clocks in at a meer 4.4% ABV, this beer is packed with flavor. This is THE beer for the IPA drinker that wants to have three or four and not slur like a middle schooler using their retainer for the first time. Floral, hoppy, with a touch of citrus and malt yielding a crisp finish with just a bit of bitterness makes this enjoyable sip after sip. In addition to making kick-ass beer, 21st has produced some of my favorite cans and packaging in recent memory.

This is most commonly found in bottles, but it’s a beer so good I’ll take it in whatever vessel it comes in. Starting out as homebrewers in the back of a home brew supply store, Ballast Point has since won the World Beer Cup “Small Brewery Champion” and a gold medal for Sculpin in 2010. Grapefruit, tropical-citrus and piney hop aromas beg you to partake in the golden orange brew. The sweetness from the citrus and bitterness from the hops join to form the best combination since inventors figured out putting a clock and a radio together will lessen the suck of having to wake up early.